India elected as Vice-Chair of the Supply Chain Council
- In a significant milestone, India and 13 other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partners have established three supply chain bodies under the landmark Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement relating to Supply Chain Resilience.
Highlights:
- 14 IPEF partners reaffirmed their commitments and collective resolve to facilitate closer cooperation to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of critical supply chains and better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions that pose a risk to economic prosperity while strengthening labor rights.
- The first-of-its-kind IPEF Supply Chain Resilience Agreement was signed by the Union Minister Commerce and Industry, along with the Ministers from other IPEF partner countries in November 2023 in Washington D.C. with an objective to make IPEF supply chains more resilient, robust, and well-integrated, and contribute towards economic development and progress of the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.
- India shared its views on the importance of a resilient supply chain network and the ongoing consultations with stakeholders on sectors that are critical to it from the perspective of national security, public health and economic well-being. India also emphasised on the need for collaboration in the skill development sector. It was stressed that identifying gaps and ensuring the right skills across our economies will be a priority, including technical assistance for workforce development and digitalization for a resilient supply chain ecosystem.
- During the meetings, each of the three supply chain bodies elected a Chair and Vice Chair, who will serve for a term of two years. The elected chairs and vice chairs are:
- Supply Chain Council: USA (Chair) and India (Vice Chair)
- The IPEF partners also underscored the significance of the upcoming in-person meeting to be held in Washington, D.C. in September 2024 on the margins of a Supply Chain Summit.
- About IPEF : IPEF was launched on 23 May 2022 at Tokyo, Japan, comprising 14 countries – Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and USA.
- The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement and cooperation among partner countries with the goal of advancing growth, economic stability and prosperity in the region.The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chain Resilience (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Pillar IV). India has joined Pillars II to IV of IPEF while it has maintained an observer status in Pillar-I.
Prelims Takeaway:
- IPEF
- Indo Pacific Islands